I counted my open tabs this morning. Forty-two.
Somewhere in that mess was my calendar, three different email drafts, and a Slack channel where my team was waiting for an answer. I spent more time Command-Tab switching between windows than actually doing the work.
We call this "multitasking," but it’s really just micro-management of our own attention. Every time you switch from Gmail to Slack, your brain has to dump one context and load another. It’s exhausting. It’s what tech people call "context switching," and it is absolutely killing our ability to think deeply.
This is why I started using OpenClaw as the central nervous system for my work.
The problem isn't the apps, it's the glue
Gmail is great at email. Slack is great at chat. Google Calendar is great at time. The problem is that they don't talk to each other. You are the API that connects them.
You read an email (Input), check your calendar (Processing), and then message someone on Slack (Output). You are doing the work of a router.
OpenClaw changes this by sitting on top of these services. Instead of opening three different apps to coordinate a meeting, you have a single conversation with an agent that has access to all three.
How it actually looks
It’s hard to visualize "unification" until you see it in action. Here is how my morning routine has changed.
The Morning Briefing
Before, I would spend 20 minutes triaging. Now, I just ask OpenClaw:
"What's urgent today?"
Because it is connected to my accounts, it scans my unread emails for keywords like "urgent" or "deadline," checks my calendar for meetings, and looks at my Slack mentions.
It comes back with:
- "You have a budget meeting at 10 AM."
- "Sarah sent you a contract draft on Slack that needs review."
- "No urgent emails, but 3 newsletters came in."
That is it. No tab switching. No getting distracted by a random newsletter when I went in to check a contract.
The "If This, Then That" on steroids
Automation tools like Zapier are fine for simple triggers, but they break when things get fuzzy. OpenClaw understands intent.
I can say:
"Check my calendar for Thursday afternoon. If I'm free between 2 and 4, email the design team proposing a review session. If I'm booked, slack them that we'll do it Friday."
Think about the steps that saves:
1. Open Calendar.
2. Scan Thursday.
3. Make a decision.
4. Open Gmail or Slack depending on the decision.
5. Draft the message.
OpenClaw does all of that in seconds. It checks the slot, makes the logic decision, and drafts the appropriate message for me to approve.
Connecting the pipes
Setting this up was surprisingly straightforward. OpenClaw uses a "Tools" system (similar to OpenAI's function calling but open-source).
You provide the API keys—or better yet, run it locally so you aren't handing keys to a cloud provider—and the agent figures out which tool to use.
If you ask "Email Bob," it knows to use the gmail_send tool. If you ask "When am I free?", it uses calendar_get. It’s not magic; it’s just really good routing.
Why this feels different
I’ve used "universal inboxes" before. They usually fail because they try to rebuild the interface of Gmail or Slack inside their own app. It’s clunky.
OpenClaw doesn't try to be an email client. It’s a chat interface. It turns GUI actions into conversation.
This shift—from pointing and clicking to just asking—reminds me of when I first started using a command line. It felt faster, more direct. You aren't hunting for buttons; you are declaring your intent.
A word of warning
This requires trust. Giving an agent access to your email and slack is a big step.
This is why I strongly recommend self-hosting OpenClaw (we have a guide on that) or being very selective about which API permissions you grant. Start with "Read Only" access if you are nervous. Let it read your calendar but not delete events. Let it draft emails but not send them.
Once you see how much brain power you save by not alt-tabbing every 30 seconds, you might find it hard to go back.
Official Links
- GitHub Repository: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
- Website: https://openclaw.ai
Conclusion
We spend so much time managing our tools that we forget to do the work. OpenClaw isn't just another tool to manage; it's a way to simplify the ones you already have.
Stop being the router. Let the code handle the switching, so you can handle the thinking.